Clothes drier with stationary cowling



Nov. 1, 1960 Filed April 8, 1957 A. T. ASHBY CLOTHES DRIER WITH STATIONARY COWLING 7 Sheets-Sheet 1 ,filnvenror ail/Wed T: 015 P33 Nov. 1, 1960 A. "r. ASHBY CLOTHES DRIER WITH STATIONARY COWLING 7 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed April 8. 1957 W M 3 M Nov. 1, 1960 Filed April 8, 1957 A. T. ASHBY 2,958,138

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dil'l'orw Nov. 1, 1960 A. T. ASHBY CLOTHES DRIER WITH STATIONARY COWLING Nov. 1, 1960 A. 'r. ASHBY CLOTHES DRIER wm: STATIONARY cowuuc 7 Sheets-Sheet 5 jnvenlor' ma TC dishb 4/ dlrt'orggy Filed April 8. 195':

Nov. 1, 1960 A. 1'. ASHBY 2,958,138

CLOTHES DRIER WITH STATIONARY COWLING Filed April 8, 1957 '7 Sheets-Sheet 6 qlfredf shb l u Z Nov. 1, 1960 A. T. ASHBY moms DRIER wrm STATIONARY cowuuc 7 Sheets-Sheet 7 Filed April 8, 1957 ,iinvmflor' allfmd T 21511122 @{Worgg United States Patent 2,958,138 CLOTHES DRIER WITH STATIONARY COWLING Alfred T. Ashby, Newton, Iowa, assignor to The Maytag Company, Newton, Iowa, a corporation of Delaware Filed Apr. 8, 1957, Ser. No. 651,245 12 Claims. (01. 34-433 This invention pertains to a clothes drier appliance. It is directed to a means for heating air prior to its entry into a clothes drum capable of tumbling fabrics during a drying process. This invention is particularly adapted for use in conjunction with that type air flow clothes drier in which both the front and rear walls of the clothes drum are perforate so as to permit a forced air fiow transversely through the drum as the fabrics to be dried are tumbled in that latter member.

In the following disclosed illustrative embodiments of my invention, a clothes drier drum is provided 'with a centrally located air exhaust opening in its rear wall which is aflixed to a revoluble drum drive shaft journalled in a blower housing supporting that drive shaft and provided with an air inlet conduit aligned with the centrally located air exhaust opening in the wear drum wall. Air flow through the drum and this latter exhaust opening is produced by the suction created by the rotation of an impeller revolubly mounted on the drum drive shaft within the blower housing.

In both embodiments of my invention, as illustrated hereinafter, air is drawn into the drum from the ambient atmosphere through a perforated area provided in the front drum wall around an access opening located in that same wall. A cowling or shroud member fastened to the inside of the cabinet enclosing the entire drum drier mechanism cooperates with the front drum wall to provide an annular manifold around the drum access opening between the drum and cabinet front.

In the first or electrical embodiment of my invention, the periphery of this stationary cowling or shroud member is spaced from the drum so as to permit incoming air to flow between the drum and shroud peripheries and over a circular heating element positioned between the drum and shroud adjacent the perforate area in the front drum wall.

In the second or gas embodiment of my invention, the periphery of the stationary shroud is provided with a sealing member which engages the periphery of the drum in a sliding contact to provide an air seal between the peripheries of the drum and shroud members. Air is drawn into the annular manifold thus produced by way of an opening in the front of the shroud member through a communicating vertical duct or chimney which in turn receives hot air from a truncated cone or generally tubular member housing a gas burner directing its flame toward the vertical duct. This chimney is apertured so as to draw cooler air from the ambient atmosphere into the chimney to intermix with the hot gases flowing into the chimney from the gas cone. The resulting admixture of warm air is then drawn into the drum through the entire perforate area in the front drum wall to flow transversely through the tumbling load of fabrics toward the centrally located exhaust opening in the rear drum wall.

In the accompanying drawings:

Figure 1 is a side elevational view of a clothes drier embodying one embodiment of my invention;

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Figure 2 is an enlarged fragmentary view showing the relationship between the drum drive shaft and the impeller for producing air flow through the drier shown in Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a rear elevational view, partially broken away, of the drier shown in Figure 1;

Figure 4 is an enlarged fragmentary view showing the means for supporting one of the pulleys forming part of the speed reduction unit for the drier shown in Figure 3;

Figure 5 is a plan view, partially broken away, of the machine shown in Figure 1;

Figure 6 is an enlarged fragmentary view, broken away, taken on line 6-6 of Figure 1;

Figure 7 is an enlarged fragmentary view taken on line 77 of Figure 1;

Figure 8 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional ele vational view showing the assembly of the drum spider, lint screen and hat screen retainer incorporated in the drier shown in Figure l;

Figure 9 is an exploded view of the elements shown partially in Figure 8 showing the lint screen retainer and lint screen separated from each other after the lint screen retainer has been removed from the drum spider.

Figure 10 is a front elevational view, partially broken away, showing a clothes drier incorporating a second embodiment of my invention;

Figure 11 is a fragmentary side elevational view taken on line 11-11 of Figure 10;'

Figure 12 is a fragmentary view taken on line 12-12 of Figure 10; and,

Figure 13 is a fragmentary view of Figure 10.

In the accompanying Figures 1-9 there is shown a clothes drier provided with a base frame 10 which serves as a support for the two upstanding channel base members 11 which are connected at their upper ends to opposite sides of the hollow blower housing casting 12 by means of the tap bolts 13.

Blower housing 12 is prevented from pivoting about bolts 13 by the horizontal channel member 14 which is fastened to the lower periphery of housing 12 by means of the bolt 15 located midway between the opposite ends of channel member 14. Channel member 14 is welded to the vertical brace members 11 to provide a rigid three-point support for the blower housing 12 and has its ends welded in turn to the two channel members 17 which form an acute angle with base frame 10 to which they are rigidly connected near the front edge of that base frame member. This construction not only supports blower housing 12 and all structure supported thereby but prevents blower housing 12 from being moved back and forth about the lower ends of the vertical brace members 11.

Casting 12 includes a tubular portion 21 (Figure l), a divider wall 20 having a rearwardly flared inner portion defining an intake into an impeller chamber and, in this illustrative embodiment, four internal radially directed longitudinal webs 22 which converge toward each other to provide a bearing retainer 23 containing bearings 24. Member 23 cooperates with tubular member 21 to define a passageway 26 of four segments located between the tubular portion 21 and the bearing retainer member 23. Since the supporting webs 22 are longitudinally continuous for support purposes only, the four-part passageway 26 can be for illustrative purposes termed a singular passageway concentric to the bearing retainer member 23.

Mounted within bearings 24 is the revoluble drum drive shaft 31 which projects from both ends oft-he casting 12. Drum drive shaft 31 carries afiixed at its taken on line 1313 Z rear, or left end, as shown in Figure l, a large pulley 33 which is driven by motor 34 through motor pulley 36, main drive belt 37, integral pulleys 38 and 39 and belt 40 to reduce the speed of motor 34 to the desired tumbling speed of approximately 50 rpm Mounting bracket 35 anchors motor 34 to frame 10.

The spring 42 connected between base frame and shaft 43 carrying pulleys 38- and 39 maintains both of belts 37 and 41 under the desired degree of tension. Shaft 43 is rigidly attached to the slide block 44 which is loosely retained in a cooperating guide member 45 welded to one of the brace members 11 (Figure 4) so as to allow a limited movement of shaft 43 in a vertical plane under the urging of spring 42 to take up the slack in belts 37 and 40.

The opposite or forward end of the drum drive shaft 31 is rigidly pinned to the drum spider member 46 by means of a cross pin 47 piercing both of the membars 31 and 46. Drum spider member 46 is provided with a hub portion 48 which carries an annular recess 49 and which is connected to the four radiating spokes 51 connected in turn to the rim 52 of member 46. A heat resistant gland or felt sealing member 54 encircles the front periphery of blower housing 12 and the circular shoulder 55 located on the rear portion of drum spider 46.

The rim- 52 of spider member 46 is formed with a circular recess 57 which receives and cooperates with a two-part lint trap assembly including the lint screen retainer member 61 and lint screen 62. Lint screen retainer member 61 is provided with a longitudinally slotted hub portion 64 which, when expanded, may receive hub 48 of spider member 46 as shown in Figure 8.

The conical face of lint screen retainer member 61 is provided with a plurality of holes 65 permitting air flow therethrough and is further provided with a pair of diametrically opposed finger holes 66 to facilitate removal of members 61 and 62 from hub 48 and from each other as shown in the exploded view of Figure 9.

The slotted portion 64 is encircled by a garter spring 68 which tends to collapse slotted portion 64 into a smaller diameter. When lint screen retainer member 61 has been removed from hub 48 of drum. spider member 46, the slotted hub 64 collapses sufliciently to allow its insertion into the centrally located opening 71 of the lint screen member 62 which in turn is received by the recess 72 located in the rear wall of the lint screen retainer member 61.

When the lint screen 62 is fitted over the slotted hub 64 of the lint screen retainer member 61, this two-part assembly can, by reason of the camming action of the outturned ends 73 of the slotted hub 64, be pushed over the spider hub 48 where it will remain in place due to the action of the garter spring 68 urging the curved ends 73 into the annular recess 49 of the drum spider member 46. Once these parts have been assembled in this position, the periphery of the lint screen retainer member 61 forms a lint-tight seal in the shouldered recess 57 thereby effectively filtering all air passing through drum spider member 46 as is apparent from an inspection of Figures 1, 6 and 8.

From those same figures, it will be seen that rim 52 of drum spider member 46 is rigidly fastened to the rear wall 74 of the clothes drum 75 adjacent the periphery of the air exhaust opening 76 blanked out of the central portion of rear wall 74 so as to receive the drum spider member 46. The rear drum wall 74 is provided with a plurality of radial supporting ribs 78 embossed in the rear wall 74 to strengthen and reinforce drum 75.

In the embodiment shown in the accompanying figures, rear wall 74 is imperforate except for the centrally located air exhaust opening 76. wall 74 is. flanged to form a supporting shoulder for the imperforate cylindrical side: Wall hich carries The periphery of rear the clothes elevating vanes 81 for tumbling clothing within drum during rotation of the latter member.

The cylindrical side wall 79 is connected to the front drum wall 83 which is provided with a centrally located access opening 84 and a circular perforate portion 85 located concentrically to access opening 84. This perforate portion 85, which is formed by several concentric rows of holes, serves as the air intake into drum 75.

The cabinet 87 which is fastened to base frame. 10 and which encloses the entire drying mechanism is provided with an access opening 88 which is aligned with the drum access opening 84 thereby allowing both of openings 84 and 88 to receive the door gasket 91 which is fitted into the cabinet access opening 88 and protrudes through access opening 84 into drum 75 The door panel 92 hinged to cabinet 87 abuts door gasket 91 to form an airtight seal for cabinet 87.

Fastened to cabinet 87 by means of suitable connectors located in the corners of the square recess which receives door panel 92 and located between cabinet 87 and drum wall 83 is the shroud or cowling member 94. Member 94 includes an imperforate circular front portion 95 and a short cylindrical portion 96 Which extends rearwardly beyond the junction of the drum walls 79 and 83. Shroud 94 is provided with a blanked out centrally located opening aligned with openings 84 and 88 to permit its encompassing of the door gasket 91 which'is maintained in place by the cooperation between the stationary shroud 94 and cabinet 87.

Located between shroud 94 and the front drum wall 83 and maintained in place by the insulated wire clips 98 fastened to shroud 94 is the open coil electric heating element 99 which extends completely around the inside of cowling member 94 to raise the temperature of air passing through perforate portion 85 in the front drum wall 83. Air flow into drum 75 through the perforate area 85 and into the blower housing 12 is produced by rotation of the revoluble impeller member 18 1 located in the scroll-shaped part of blower housing 12. The impeller member 101 receives by means of a press fit a steel sleeve 102 which is bonded to two rubber cylindrical members 103 having inner surfaces bonded in turn to the two sintered bronze porous bushings 184 which are revolubly mounted on the step-down portion of the drum drive shaft 31. v

Wicking material 186 located between the two rubber sleeves 183 serves as an oil reservoir for bushings 104 and maintains proper lubrication for these bushings on shaft 31. The use of the rubber cylindrical sleeves 103 aids in reducing the noise level during rotation of impeller member 101 which is driven at approximately 1700 r.p.m. through the pulley 107 formed integrally with impeller member 101. The noise level is further reduced by the use of the small bushings 104 on the step-down portion of shaft 31.

Fan pulley 107 is connected to the driving motor 34 by means of the main drive belt 37. A spacer collar 109 encircling the step-down portion of shaft 31 prevents axial movement of impeller, member 101 toward the webs 22 of housing 12 while pulley 33 limits axial movement of impeller 101 in the oppositedirection.

Impeller member 101 is enclosed by the scroll-shaped portion of casting '12, the divider wall 20 and the blower housing cover 111 which cooperates with and fits against casting .12 in a juxtapositional relationsihp to form an air discharge passageway 112 connected to the exhaust elbow 113 for venting the hot moist air expelled from the interior of drum 75 into a remote atmosphere.

The blower housing casting '12 includes an opening near the upper portion of that housing to accomodate a cycling thermostat 115 which is connected in series with the heating element 99 in order to maintain the interior of drum 75 at the proper selected drying temperature.

5 In practice, this switch is set to open at approximately 135.

Also connected in series with the heating element 99 is the high limit switch 116 which is mounted on an upper part of the cylindrical portion '96 of shroud member 94 so as to disconnect heating element 99 from its source of power in case the temperature near the front of the drum should rise above a predetermined selected temperature during the operation of the clothes drier in case of a reduced air fiow through drum 75. Such a reduction in air flow through drum 75 could, for example, be caused by breakage of belt 37 controlling rotation of impeller 101 or by clogging of lint screen 62. In practice, high limit switch 116 has been set to open at approximately 170.

To operate the clothes drier shown in the first embodiment of my invention after drum 75 has been loaded with moist fabrics to be dried, power is supplied to motor 34 and then to the heating element 99 through a control circuit forming no part of this invention. The energization of motor 34 causes clothes drum 75 to rotate at approximately 50 rpm. while causing impeller member 101 to rotate at approximately 1700 r.p.m. to exhaust air from the blower housing 12 through the air discharge passageway 112 and air exhaust elbow 113.

This pumping of air through exhaust elbow 113 creates a partial vacuum within drum 75 with the result that air from the ambient atmosphere flows into drum 75 through the perforate portion 85 after passing betweenshroud 94 and drum 75. Air entering drum 75 by way of this path is elevated in temperature when it passes over the heater 99 located between drum 75 and shroud 94. In actual construction, a 4500 watt heating element has been used as the heat source.

Since the air flow through drum 75 in practice has been approximately 150 cubic feet per minute, an effective transfer of heat from unit 99 to the interior of drum 75 is achieved while the operating temperature of the air within drum 75 is kept at a rather low level thereby insuring a safe and delicate drying operation of the fabrics within that drum. For example, in the actual construction of this machine, the temperature of the air flowing from exhaust elbow 11 3 is normally about 115 when a 4500 watt heating element is used in conjunction with this preferred air flow. This large volume of relatively low temperature intermixes with the damp fabrics as they are tumbled by vanes 81 during the rotation of drum 75 to rapidly and efiiciently evaporate moisture from these fabrics at these low operating temperatures over a short, efiicient drying operation.

The hot air passing from drum 75 through the lint screen retainer member 61 and the lint screen 62, by reason of the suction produced by impeller member 101, is filtered of its entrained lint prior to the exhausting of this hot moist air through the centrally located air exhaust opening 76.

Figures -13 show a second or gas embodiment of my invention which is somewhat similar in principle to the first electrical embodiment shown in Figures l-9. Since the supporting framework, rear exhaust ductwork and drier drum of the two embodiments are identical, identical reference numerals are used to identify common parts wherever practicable.

This second embodiment is similar to the first embodiment in that the shroud or cowling member 94 is spaced from the front drum wall 83 in an identical manner to that of the first embodiment. Figure 10, a front elevational view with portions broken away, shows connectors 89 for rigidly connecting shroud 94 to the front of cabinet 87. While not shown in detail in the drawings of the first embodiment, this method of connecting members 94 and 87 together is identical in both modifications of this invention.

Unlike the modification shown in Figures 1-9, the cylindrical portion 96 of shroud 94 is sealed to the pcriphery of drum by means of the heat resistant felt seal or gland 121 which encircles drum 75 and portion 96. Gland 121 has one end fastened to portion 96 while its opposite end engages the drum periphery in a sliding engagement. Wire 122 which encircles sealing member 1211 is tensioned by spring 123 interconnecting the ends of wire 122 so as to maintain a satisfactory air seal between shroud 94 and drum 75 during rotation of the latter member. This produces an annular manifold around the access openings and between members 83 and 94. Other types of similar seals may be used between members 94 and 75 to produce a similar manifold chamber between the front of drum 75 and shroud 94. This includes the fastening of seal 121 to drum 75 with the sliding engagement taking place along the interior surface of cylindrical portion 96.

Shroud 94 of the second embodiment is modified from that of the first embodiment in that shroud member 94 is provided with a large air intake opening 127 providing a means for supplying heated air to this manifold chamber formed by the cooperation between the shroud 94 and drum 75. Merging into shroud 94 and communicating with that member through opening 127 is the box-like chimney or vertical duct 128 which has its upper end fastened to shroud 94 and its lower end anchored to base frame 10.

Chimney 128 is formed with a front wall 131 which is substantially flush with a front shroud wall and which is provided with a fresh air port or opening 132 for mixing air from the ambient atmosphere with the hot gases supplied to chimney 128. The upper twothirds of chimney 128 is of a depth which is slightly less than that of the cylindrical portion 96 of shroud 94 while the lower portion of chimney 128- flares rearwardly into a greater depth to accommodate the smaller end of the truncated cone and generally tubular member 134 which extends just into chimney 128 for supplying hot air to the latter member.

As apparent from Figure 13 the inner side wall of chimney 128 which receives cone 134 is provided with a plurality of circumferentially spaced openings 135 which define spring-like fingers 136 for retaining the small-end of cone 134 in chimney 128 and which provide additional fresh air intake ports for intermixing air from the ambient'atmosphere with the hot gases flowing into chimney 128 from cone 134.

The larger end of cone 134 is fastened to base frame 10 adjacent a bracket 138 which supports the gas burner 139 projecting into that open end of cone 134. Burner 139 is supplied with gas through conduit 141 which is connected to external gas controls forming no part of this invention. The end of burner 139 is provided with a flame spreader 142 having a slot 143 positioned at an angle of approximately 45 to base frame 10 so as to direct a flame 144 toward chimney 128 in a plane which is parallel to a high limit switch 146 carried in the upper rear portion of cone 134. I

High limit switch 146, which is normally closed like the similar functioning switch 116 of the first embodiment, is opened whenever the draft through the cone 134 is reduced to such an extent as to allow flame 144 to rise toward high limit switch 146 which, in' actual practice, opens above and shuts down the entire drier mechanism through external drier controls not shown. As in the first embodiment, such a reduction or cessation of air flow could be caused by the clogging of lint screen 62 or the breakage of belt 37.

The embodiment of Figures l0-l3 functions identically to that of Figures l-9 except for the method of supplying air into the perforate portion 85 of the front drum wall 83. During the drying operation, motor 34 turns impeller 101 to create a draft through drum 75,

chimney 128 and cone 134. The hot air produced by the flame emanating from burner 139 is mixed with cooler air entering chimney 128 through the larger endof 7 cone 134 and through the openings 132 and 135 to produce a mixture of warm air which flows upwardly through opening 127 and into the manifold chamber between shroud 94 and the front drum wall 83 through which it enters drum 75 to pass transversely through the tumbling fabrics contained within the latter member.

Due to the manifold construction illustrated in the accompanying drawings, both embodiments of this invention accommodate large quantities of warm air which permeate the entire interior of the clothes drum to dry fabrics during a short period without overheating or scorching them as is sometimes the case in driers which depend upon exposing the fabrics to concentrated quantities of heat energy.

While the embodiments shown in the accompanying drawings have been designated as either electrical or gas constructions due to the preferred usage of these modifications, it should be apparent that either modification may be modified to operate with gas or electrical energy.

I claim:

1. A clothes drier comprising, a clothes receiving drum, means mounting said drum for rotation about a horizontal axis, a front wall in said drum provided with a centrally located access opening and a perforate area between said access opening and the periphery of said drum, a cabinet enclosing said drum, anaccess opening in said cabinet aligned with said access opening in said front Wall, a door gasket extending through both of said access openings, a stationary member encircling said door gasket and fastened to said cabinet, said stationary member cooperating with said cabinet to support said door gasket in alignment with said access openings, an air exhaust opening in said drum, air translating means for moving air into said drum through said perforate area and out of said drum through said air exhaust opening, and means for heating air entering said drum through said perforate area in said front wall.

2. A clothes drier comprising, a clothes receiving drum, means mounting said drum for rotation about a horizontal axis, a front wall in said drum provided with a centrally located access opening and a foraminous area encircling said access opening, a cabinet housing said drum, an access opening in said cabinet aligned with said access opening in said front wall, a door gasket extending through both of said access openings, a stationary cowling member encircling said door gasket and fastened to said cabinet, said cowling member cooperating with said cabinet to support said door gasket in alignment with said access openings and including a cylindrical portion encircling said front drum wall, an air exhaust opening in said drum, air translating means for moving air into said drum through said foraminous area and out of said drum through said air exhaust opening, and means for heating air entering said drum prior to its entry through said foraminous area in said front wall.

3. A clothes drier comprising, a clothes receiving drum, means mounting said drum for rotation about a horizontal axis, a front Wall in said drum provided with a centrally located access opening and a foraminous area encircling said access opening and located between said access opening and the periphery of said drum, a cabinet enclosing said drum, an access opening in said cabinet aligned with said access opening in said front drum wall, a door gasket extending through both of said access openings, a stationary cowling member encircling said door gasket and fastened to said cabinet between said front wall and said cabinet, said cowling member cooperating with said cabinet to support said door gasket in alignment with said access openings, said cowling member extending beyond the priphery of said drum and including a cylindrical portion extending rearwardly to enclose a portion of the periphery of said drum, a heating unit carried on said cowling member and positioned concentrically to said access openings between said front wall and said cowling member to elevate the temperature of 8 air passing over said heating unit, an air exhaust opening in said drum, air translating means for moving air past said heating unit and into said drum through said perforate area and out of said drum through said air exhaust opening to evaporate moisture from damp fabrics placed within said drum;

4. A clothes drier comprising, a clothes receiving drum, means mounting said drum for rotation about a horizontal axis, a front Wall in said drum provided with a centrally located access opening and a foraminous area between said access opening and periphery of said drum, a cabinet enclosing said drum, an access opening in said cabinet aligned with said access opening in said front wall, a stationary member positioned between said front wall and said cabinet and provided with an opening aligned with said access openings, a sealing member extending between said stationary member and said drum to provide an annular manifold between said front wall and said stationary member, an air intake opening in said stationary member, conduit means communicating with said air intake opening in said stationary member, an air exhaust opening in said drum, air translating means for moving air into said conduit means for passage into said drum through said manifold and said foraminous area and out of said drum through said air exhaust opening, and heating means for heating air entering said conduit means for evaporating moisture from fabrics placed within said drum and tumbled in the air stream created by said air translating means between said foraminous area and said air exhaust opening.

5. A clothes drier comprising, a clothes receiving drum, means mounting said drum for rotation about a horizontal axis, a front wall in said drum provided with a centrally located access opening and a perforate area between said access opening and the periphery of said drum, a cabinet housing said drum, an access opening in said cabinet aligned with said access opening in said front Wall, a stationary cowling member positioned between said front Wall and said cabinet and provided with an opening aligned with said access openings, said cowling member extending beyond the periphery of said drum and including a rearwardly extending cylindrical portion encircling a portion of the periphery of said drum, sealing means extending between said cylindrical portion and said drum to form a manifold between said cowling member and said front wall, an air intake opening in said cowling member, a conduit means communicating with said air intake opening, an air exhaust opening in said drum, air translating means for moving air into said conduit means and through said drum through said perforate area and said exhaust opening, and heating means for heating air passing into said conduit means for evaporating moisture from fabrics contained within said drum and tumbled in the air stream created between said perforate area and said air exhaust opening by said air translating means.

6. A clothes drier comprising, a clothes receiving drum, means mounting said drum for rotation about a horizontal axis, a front wall in said drum provided with a centrally located access opening and a perforate area between said access opening and the periphery of said drum, a cabinet enclosing said drum, an access opening in said cabinet aligned with said access opening in said front wall, a door gasket extending through both of said access openings, a stationary cowling member encircling said door gasket and fastened to said cabinet, said cowlmg member cooperating with said cabinet to support said door gasket in alignment with said access openings and including a cylindrical rearwardly extending peripheral portion encircling a portion of the periphery of said drum, sealing means connected between said cylindrical portion and said drum to create an annular manifold chamber between said cowling member and said front Wall, an air intake opening in said cowling member, an upstanding conduit communicating with said annular 9 v manifold through said air intake opening in said cowling member, heating means for elevating the temperature of air entering said conduit means, an air exhaust opening in said drum, and air translating means for moving air through said conduit means and into said drum through said annular manifold and out of said drum through said air exhaust opening for evaporating moisture from damp fabrics placed within said drum and tumbled in the air stream created by said air translating means between said perforate area and said air exhaust opening.

7. A clothes drier comprising, a' clothes receiving drum, means mounting said drum for rotation about a horizontal axis, a front wall in said drum provided with a centrally located access opening and a perforate area encircling said access opening, a cabinet enclosing said drum, an access opening in said cabinet aligned with said access opening in said front wall, a door gasket extending through both said access openings, a stationary cowling member encircling said door gasket and fastened to staid cabinet, said cowling member cooperating with said cabinet to form a support for said door gasket for positioning said door gasket in alignment with said access openings, said cowling member extending beyond the periphery of said drum and including a cylindrical rearwardly extending portion encircling a portion of the periphery of said drum, sealing means positioned between said drum and said cylindrical portion for sealing said drum and said cowling member together to create an annular manifold between said front wall and said cowling member, an air intake opening in said cowling member, an upstanding conduit connected to said cowling and communicating with said manifold through said air intake opening, a tubular member communicating with said conduit means, an air heating unit for heating air entering said tubular member, an air exhaust opening in said drum, and air translating means for moving air through said tubular member and said conduit means and through said drum through said perforate area and said air exhaust opening for evaporating moisture from damp fabrics placed within said drum and tumbled in the air stream created by said air translating means between said perforate area and said air exhaust opening.

8. A clothes drier comprising, a clothes receiving drum, means mounting said drum for rotation about a horizontal axis, a front wall in said drum provided with a centrally located access opening and a perforate area between said access opening and periphery of said drum, a cabinet enclosing said drum, an access opening in said cabinet aligned with said access opening in said front Wall, a door gasket extending through both of said access openings, a stationary cowling member positioned between said front wall and said cabinet and provided with an opening aligned with said access openings, means fastening said stationary cowling member to said cabinet, said cowling member cooperating with said cabinet to support said door gasket in alignment with said access openings, said cowling member further including a cylindrical rearwardly extending peripheral portion encircling a portion of the periphery of said drum, sealing means positioned between said drum and said cylindrical portion for sealing said drum and said cowling member together to form an annular manifold chamber between said front wall and said cowling member, an air intake opening in said cowling member, an upstanding conduit fastened to said cowling member and communicating with said annular manifold through said air intake opening, a truncated cone extending into said conduit and communicating therewith to define an air path into said annular manifold chamber through said truncated cone and said upstanding conduit, a heating unit for heating air entering said truncated cone, air ports provided in said upstanding conduit for drawing air from the ambient atmosphere into said upstanding conduit for mixture with heated air emanating from said truncated cone, an air exhaust opening in said drum, an

air translating means for moving air into said drum through said perforate area from said annular manifold and out of said drum through said air exhaust opening to evaporate moisture from damp fabrics placed within said drum and tumbled in the air stream created between said perforate area and said air exhaust opening by said air translating means.

9. The invention of claim 8 wherein at least some of said air ports cooperate with each other to define fingers engaging said truncated cone for positioning said truncated cone in place in said upstanding conduit.

10. A clothes drier comprising, a clothes receiving drum, means mounting said drumfor rotation about a horizontal axis, a front wall in said drum provided with a centrally located access opening and an annular foraminous area between said access opening and the periphery of said drum, a rear wall in said drum provided with a centrally located air exhaust opening about said horizontal axis, an exhaust conduit communicating with said exhaust opening and in sealed relationship to said rear wall about said exhaust opening, a cabinet enclosing said drum, an access opening in said cabinet aligned with said access opening in said front Wall, an annular stationary member positioned between said front wall and said cabinet defining an annular shroud over said annular foraminous area and further defining an opening aligned with said access openings, an annular air intake opening to said shrouded foraminous area defined by said stationary member, air translating means in said exhaust conduit coaxially disposed relative to said horizontal axis for moving air into said drum through said intake opening and said annular foraminous area and out of said drum through said central air exhaust opening, and means for heating air entering said drum through said foraminous area in said front wall.

11. A clothes drier comprising, a clothes receiving drum, means mounting said drum for rotation about a horizontal axis, a front Wall in said drum provided with a centrally located access opening and an annular foraminous area between said access opening and the periphery of said drum, a rear wall in said drum provided with an air exhaust opening about said horizontal axis, an exhaust conduit communicating with said exhaust opening and in sealed relationship to said rear wall about said exhaust opening, a cabinet enclosing said drum, an access opening in said cabinet aligned with said access opening in said front wall, an annular stationary member between said front wall and said cabinet defining an annular manifold over said annular foraminous area and further defining an access opening aligned with said front wall and cabinet access openings, an air intake opening defined by said stationary member, a gasket seal member aligned with said access openings and bridging an axial gap between the access opening in said cabinet and the access opening in said front wall of said drum, air translating means in said exhaust conduit including an impeller rotatably mounted on said horizontal axis for moving air into said drum through said intake opening and said annular foraminous area and out of said drum through said central air exhaust opening, and means for heating air entering said drum through said foraminous area in said front wall.

12. A clothes drier comprising, a clothes receiving drum, means mounting said drum for rotation about a horizontal axis, a front wall in said drum provided with a centrally located access opening and an annular foraminous area between said access opening and the periphery of said drum, a rear wall in said drum provided with a centrally located air exhaust opening about said horizontal axis, an exhaust conduit communicating with said exhaust opening and in sealed relationship to said rear wall about said exhaust opening, a cabinet enclosing said drum, an access opening in said cabinet aligned with said access opening in said front wall, an annular stationary member positioned between said front wall and said 11 cabinet defining an annular shroud over said annular foraminous area and further defining an opening aligned with said access openings, said stationary member extending beyond the periphery of said drum and including a peripheral portion of cylindrical configuration encircling a portion of said drum in spaced relationship thereto, said peripheral portion defining an air intake opening to said shrouded foraminous area, air translating means in said exhaust conduit including an impeller member revoluble about said horizontal axis for moving air into said drum through said intake opening and said annular foraminous area of said drum through said air exhaust opening,

- References Cited in the file; of this patent 5 UNITED STATES'PATENTS- 252L712 Geldhof Sept. 12; 1950 2,769,246 Shapter V "'V Nov. '6, 1956 FOREIGN PATENTS 813,843 Gennany v Sept. 17, 1951 161,373 7 Australia Feb. 25, 1954 

